9 h 48 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 9 h 48 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
In the back stairs and roadside inns of old France, a word or a sealed letter can threaten a life.
In Kings' Byways brings together Stanley John Weyman's short historical adventures set in the France of kings and great nobles. Away from great battles and speeches, people of modest standing find themselves caught in the affairs of the powerful. Country roads, castles and crowded courts become places where uneasy loyalties carry real danger.
Each tale turns on a hard choice. Loyalty to a master, a friend or a private promise can come at a cost, while wit may decide who survives. Weyman keeps the plots moving with clear prose and sharp details: a road at dusk, a room with one door, a face that gives nothing away.
What you’ll discover
- The side roads of history Explore the lanes, inns and back stairs where smaller people face the dangers of power.
- Loyalty under pressure Follow hard choices that test what a promise means when keeping it becomes costly.
- Wit against danger Discover tales where survival depends on more than standing close to the powerful.
- Old France in sharp detail Step into castles and crowded courts, where uneasy loyalties shape each encounter.
- Adventure without a long commitment Enjoy brisk plots and clear storytelling, with each tale short enough for one sitting.
Who will love it
Readers who love cloak and sword adventures, clever plots, and French history seen through ordinary people near the throne will enjoy these tales.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A thrown-out clerk stumbles into court politics
- A gambler stakes his life and finds a rescuer
- A hanged man's family shelters a hidden stranger
- A governor loses at cards and plans to gamble back
- A widow holds a town's fate in her hands
- Two daring tales of loyalty from marsh and castle
- Sully's memoirs mix dry wit with sudden danger
- The Terror closes in on a house and a barn
- Honor, cunning and love run through every tale
- Voices, nights and bridges give each tale its shape
Who’s who
- ProsperA clerk from Béarn, dismissed and beaten by the Bishop, who holds a dangerous secret about a stolen dog.
- Cardinal MazarinA smooth, patient minister who works quietly to take the Bishop's place at the Queen's side.
- Claude de BazanA country youth who gambles away everything in Paris and is saved by a bold courtier.
- CrillonA proud and fearless soldier at the court of Henry the Third who stakes his own life for a stranger.
- Henry of NavarreThe cheerful Huguenot king, later Henry the Fourth, who wins by wit and courage.
- SullyThe vain and loyal minister who guards his king against plots and tells his adventures with a straight face.
- Achille MirandeA stern Girondin republican who shelters his daughter's husband during the Terror and tests his honor.
- JeanneA young Breton wife, bullied by her cowardly husband, who hides a fugitive in her barn.
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- Hardcover
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In Kings' Byways
by Stanley John Weyman · 1902
A beaten clerk catches a stolen bundle in a dark Paris lane, and Cardinal Mazarin soon needs his silence.
Medium level5–10 hours to readEnglish
Excellent
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In short
A clerk is thrown into a fountain, flogged through the gates and chased across Paris, all because he added a zero to a census. Minutes later a stranger flings a warm bundle into his arms.
In Kings' Byways at a glance
- Reading time
- About 5 h 40 min4 h 30 min fast, 6 h 40 min slow
- Length
- 80,400 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1902by Stanley John Weyman
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A thrown-out clerk stumbles into court politics
The first tale, Flore, opens in the summer of 1643, weeks after the old king's death. Prosper, a third clerk to the Bishop of Beauvais, has just married and thinks his fortune is made. Then a mistake in a census figure shames the Bishop before the Council. Within an hour Prosper is soaked, beaten and barefoot, and he runs for his life through the dusk.
Another runner hurls a bundle into his arms and darts away. Prosper tumbles through a door and feels the bundle stir. It is warm and alive. Next morning he sees a scrap of purple velvet with a gold crown and decides he has held the little King of France. His father-in-law speaks only of the Queen's missing spaniel.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1902
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 6 h 20 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Weyman, Stanley John. In Kings' Byways. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/in-kings-byways.
Weyman, S. J. (2026). In kings' byways. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/in-kings-byways (Original work published 1902)
Weyman, Stanley John. In Kings' Byways. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/in-kings-byways.
@book{weyman2026kings,
author = {Weyman, Stanley John},
title = {In Kings' Byways},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/in-kings-byways},
note = {First published 1902}
}
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What is In Kings' Byways about?
It is a collection of short historical tales set in France and nearby lands, from the Wars of Religion through the reign of Henry the Fourth and Cardinal Mazarin to the Terror of 1794. The tales follow clerks, peasants, nobles and ministers caught in dangerous affairs.
Is In Kings' Byways a true story?
No. Weyman invented most of the characters and incidents, but he placed them among real events and people such as Henry of Navarre, Crillon, Sully, Mazarin and Barbaroux. The settings and political crises are real.
Who are Crillon and Sully in the book?
Both were real figures of the period. Crillon was a brave soldier known as the brave Crillon. Sully was Henry the Fourth's chief minister, and his tales are told in his own proud, formal voice.
The author
Stanley John Weyman
1855–1928 · English historical novelist
Stanley John Weyman (1855–1928) was an English novelist who wrote historical fiction. He was born in Ludlow, Shropshire, and later lived in Ruthin, Wales, where he died. His books include A Gentleman of France (1893), Under the Red Robe (1894), and the short-story collection In Kings’ Byways (1902).
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